There will be plenty of interested parties in the area watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, and not just for the game or even the commercials.

That’s because there are three players from the Colonial Conference on the roster for the AFC champion Baltimore Ravens — starting quarterback Joe Flacco, an Audubon High School graduate, starting left tackle Bryant McKinnie (Woodbury) and reserve squad tight end Alex Silvestro (Paulsboro). Three players from small schools in a small South Jersey conference playing on the biggest stage for the biggest prize.

“It’s pretty cool,” admitted Flacco during a press conference last week. “Bryant played a little before my time and Alex played a little bit after me, but we played in a small conference down in South Jersey and it’s definitely pretty neat to be able to be with those guys, especially to go to the Super Bowl with them.

“(Paulsboro graduate) Issac Redman is another guy that plays for Pittsburgh that’s been there. When you think about my conference and the size of the high schools these guys came from, especially Alex and Bryant’s schools are very small schools, so to see us in the Super Bowl is pretty cool. I hope it’s a cool thing for everyone back in South Jersey.”

It seems to be cool for most, especially for the Colonial coaches who had those players at their disposal — or even the ones who had to face off against them.

“(Flacco’s) senior year was my first year as coach,” Haddonfield head coach Frank DeLano said. “It was a 21-14 game, he threw for 417 yards against us. When the game starts Sunday, I’ll officially be over it.

“It’s a credit to (former Audubon and current Haddon Heights) coach (Ralph) Schiavo. (Flacco) was in a completely different system the first three years, this was a totally different dynamic. He took his talents to the next level, he put him in an offense similar to what he was going to see on Sundays. You wondered if we were that bad as coaches or he was that good of a player. Now we know.”

“That is remarkable, a great accomplishment for the conference and the type of football they played,” said former Woodbury head coach Zack Valentine, whose first year teaching was McKinnie’s senior year. “It’s good to see, the backgrounds come from high school. You learn it in high school, you get better at the collegiate level, but when you go through a professional season and you’re still standing at the end it’s pretty amazing.

“I coached against Silvestro and Flacco. It makes you feel good about the conference and what you’re establishing, especially at the smaller schools.”

It’s a big positive for a conference that has drawn attention over the years as a home of champions — 13 South Jersey titles in Groups I and II since 2000 — but has also weathered concerns from some that the overall quality of the conference has dropped.

All those titles have come from just four schools — West Deptford (6), Paulsboro (5), Woodbury (1) and Haddonfield (1) — while other teams struggle to compete on a yearly basis. In addition, the creation of the West Jersey Football League’s superconference and if rumors of a potential merger with the Cape-Atlantic League come to pass, the Colonial would be left alone as an apparent anachronism in South Jersey football.

Having a trio of Colonial alums potentially winning a Lombardi Trophy today is a big argument against much of that.

“I think it speaks volumes for the conference and the individual schools they represent,” Schiavo said. “Sometimes you hear talk about the Colonial and the strength of the conference. You’ve got to be ready every week. They may not all be as deep as a West Deptford, but everyone’s got players. The conference is standing strong. I’m not hearing they’ll ever disband or join one of those conferences. They’re the last of the Mohicans.

“I’m happy for those guys first, but for representing South Jersey and the Colonial Conference it’s phenomenal.”

Schiavo also noted that other players from the Colonial are continuing down the trail that Flacco, McKinnie, Silvestro and Redman have taken. Jamil Pollard of West Deptford is just one player from last year who went on to a major Division I college (Rutgers), Woodbury’s Anthony Averett will sign with Alabama on Wednesday and Pollard’s former teammate Gerald Owens is a top recruit from current juniors.

That raises the bar for other players as well, both teammates and opponents of those who initially draw a recruiter’s attention.

“It shows the competition level there and how strong the Colonial Conference is, especially being Group I and Group II schools,” said Silvestro, who was with the Patriots in last year’s Super Bowl. “There’s good players that come out and you can get found in that area. So if you’re a kid, keep grinding and know that there is an opportunity for you.

“But it is something else to have three people playing in the Super Bowl from the Colonial Conference on the same team.”

“I don’t think I would ever imagine this, that all of us from the same conference are going to the Super Bowl together, or even on the same team because it’s such a small conference,” McKinnie said. “But it’s a big deal for us and the people back home.”